Electronics

How soon will TV transform from wall-mounted 4K flat-screens to a 99-cent app in a VR/AR App Store? That's a question few will ponder this week as the National Association of Broadcasters gathers in Las Vegas for the NAB Show 2016. TV has both defined and enlarged mass communication for more than a half-century. No one in their right mind would suggest that big-screen TVs might go away – ever! Well, no one ever said I was in my right mind.

Elon Musk recently announced the Tesla Model 3, a sub-$40k, 5-seat plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) with a ~200-mile range that is well positioned to change the world. It should be available sometime in late 2017. As of this writing, the company has received over 325,000 deposits ($1,000 each). That said, sometime in late 2016 (a year earlier than Tesla is scheduled to launch the Model 3), GM is going to launch the Chevy Bolt, a sub-$40k, 5-seat PEV with a ~200-mile range that is also well positioned to change the world. As of this writing, GM has received approximately zero deposits to reserve the Bolt, and there's a reason.

Tay is a combination chatbot and AI system designed by Microsoft to "engage and entertain people where they connect with each other online through casual and playful conversation." It was specifically "targeted at 18 to 24 year olds in the U.S., the dominant users of mobile social chat services in the U.S." If the words "designed" and "targeted" are off-putting, then you're really not going to care for one of the system's recent, now infamous, tweets ... but, there is much, much more to learn from Microsoft's mistake.

What do real estate agents, interior decorators, soccer moms and sports photographers all have in common? VR is about to rock their respective worlds thanks to the new Samsung Galaxy S7 and a little ball of joy called the Samsung Gear 360.

The newly named CTA™ (Consumer Technology Association, formerly the Consumer Electronics Association or CEA) will hold the newly named CES® 2016 show (Consumer Electronics Show, formerly International CES) this week. Here's what to expect.